Our Gear
Studio A "The Music Room"
This is the largest of our two studios. It is a 24-track (or more!) room housing the largest array of 24-track formats in the area. Available are:Digital Performer 24-bit hard disk recording (no track limit!)
2-inch Analog with or without Dolby SR (that great analog sound even at half speed!)
We still maintain many of our legacy formats for transfer of projects into Digital Performer.
Mackie SDR 24-bit hard disk recording
ADAT format digital multitracks with BRC controller;
Tascam DA-88/38 Hi-8 format digital recording
Our original 1" analog with dbx.
The mixing console is a big-44 by AMEK, designed by Graham Langley.
Outboard signal processing includes:
High Quality Preamplifier/EQ
- 1 2ch. Focusrite ISA 215 Mic Preamp & Parametric Equalizer
- Focusrite TwinTrak Pro Stereo/Dual Mono mic preamp with optical output
- Mackie Onyx 800R 8-channel unit with optical out
Compression/Limiting/Expansion:
- Waves Plugins for Digital Perfomer
- 4 UREI LA-4A
- 1 UREI 1176LN
- 1 2ch Ivory series tube mic preamp/compressor/gate
- 4 Behringer Composer (2 ch each)
- 2 Valley People Dynamites
- 1 dbx 162 Stereo unit
- 2 dbx 160
Delays/Reverbs/Digital Processing:
- 2 Lexicon PCM-70s
- 2 Ensoniq DP-4 discrete 4-channel, 26 algorithm, multi-processors
- 2 Lexicon LXP-1 w/MRC controller
- 1 Lexicon PCM-41 delay
- 2 Lexicon Super PrimeTime delays
- DeltaLab DL-2 Acousticomputer fully loaded
- 1 URSA Major Stargate 626 digital reverb
- 1 Alesis Quadraverb
- 1 Lexicon PCM-60 reverb
- 2 Alesis Midiverb II
Pitch Shifters/Correctors:
- Antares ATR-1 AutoTune
- 2 Eventide H-3000S Ultra Harmonizer
- 2 Ensoniq DP-4
- 1 DeltaLab DL-5 Harmonicomputer
Other:
- Macintosh Dual G5 in OS-X Panther-running Digital Performer 4 w/MOTU hardware (24I/O, 2408Mk III interfaces),
- 1 Ashly Audio SC-66 2ch, 4-band fully-parametric eq
- 1 UREI 565 notch filter set
Our microphone selection is very large (well over 50) so we will just mention a few here.
- 2 Neumann U-89 5-pattern, large-diaphragm condenser
- 1 AKG C-12VR Tube (Vintage re-issue of the classic C-12)
- Royer 121 Ribbon
- 2 Neumann KM-184 condenser
- 2 AKG D-12E kick drum mics, 3 C451E
- 2 C-414E multipattern condenser
- 2 C-1000S
- Beyer:1 M-500,1 M-160 Ribbon,1 M-88, 1 M-260,
- Sennheiser: 3 MD-421U, 2 MD-441
- Sony: 3 ECM-33, 2 ECM-65, 1 ECM-30, 1 big diaphragm condenser
- 3 Electro-Voice RE-20, 2 CS-15
- Shure 6 SM57s; SM52, SM56, SM81
Monitoring is done on JBL 4430s, and Genelec 1031 nearfields (smooooth!).
Our tape machines consist of Sony ATR-24 2"; Alesis ADAT XT (16-bit only); Tascam DA-88/38 Hi-8; Tascam MSR-24 24-track, Otari MX-5050-8 MkIII 8-track, 3 Panasonic SV-3700 DAT machines; Fostex E-2 2-track w/center track time code, Otari MX-5050BQII 4-track, and 10 cassette machines.
The studio itself in the Music Room is one of the best in the area. It has a spacious drum/isolation room, live and dead areas and room to comfortably hold 20 performers or even up to 70 member choirs. It is constructed out of polished hardwoods, rough cedar, and rock; and does not contain any parallel surfaces. Overall, the room is acoustically neutral giving you the most freedom in the recording process.
Use of a variety of instruments are included in the hourly rate such as keyboards, electric bass, acoustic guitar and a Leslie cabinet.
Studio B "The Doghouse"
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This is also a 24-track room which can be used for overdubs, sync-to-picture, MIDI/Production work, and CD Mastering.Multitrack formats supported in here are MOTU Digital Performer; Mackie SDR24, ADATs with BRC, and DA-88/38
The mixer in The Doghouse is a Mackie D8B digital 8-bus with snapshot and dynamic moving-fader automation, with 5.1 operating system and maxxed out internal processing giving you one-button total recall of settings. Monitoring is done on Mackie HD-824 monitors. Outboard gear includes:
Compression/Limiting/Expansion:
- Waves Plug ins (including the famous and awesome L1 & L2)
- There is a built-in compressor and gate on every input of the Mackie Digital mixer
- Behringer Composer (2 ch)
- Ensoniq DP-4
Digital Processing/Delays/Reverbs:
- 2 Lexicon LXP-1 with MRC
Pitch Shifters/Correctors:
- Auto Tune Plug ins for Digital Performer
- Ensoniq DP-4
Other:
- Kahler Human Clock
MIDI recording is well integrated here at Group Effort. Mark Of The Unicorn's Digital Performer software take care of sequencing and audio recording, and Bias Peak, along with JAM software handle digital editing and CD mastering.
Synthesizers:
- Kurzweil PS2 keyboard with orchestral expansion block
- MOTU Mach 5 Virtual Instrument Sample player (inlcuding a 500 MB, 7 layer velocity switched Bosendorfer grand piano!
- Roland D-50
- Kurzweil 1200-Pro tone module-fully loaded
- Proteus 1, 2 -pop/orchestral sample players
- Roland MKS-70 (Super JX in a box) analog tone module